Maramureș County
Maramureș ( ) is a county (judeţ) of Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. History * The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary. Since then Máramaros served as the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1920, the Trianon Peace Treaty. * 11th century historical Maramureş counties separation from Borsova (Rom. Borşa) * 1241 Tartar invasion decimated about half of the local population * 14th century Duke (knyaz) Bogdan of Maramureş said to be founder of Moldova * In the Middle Ages, the historical region of Maramureş was known for its salt mines and later for its lumber * In 1920 after the Treaty of Trianon, the northern part of the county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. The southern part (including Sighetu Marmaţiei) became part of Romania. * For more information regarding the history see Máramaros, referring the historical Hungarian name of the county. Demographics In 2002, the county had a population of 510,110 and a population density of . * Romanians - 82% (or 441,288)National Institute of Statistics, "Populaţia după etnie" * Hungarians - 9.1% (or 46,300) * Ukrainians - 6.7% (or 34,027) * Gypsies - 1.7% (or 8,913) * Germans - 0.4% (or 2,012), and others. Geography This county has a total area of , of which 43% is covered by the Rodna Mountains, with its tallest peak, Pietrosul, at altitude. Together with Gutâi and Ţibleş mountain ranges, the Rodna mountains are part of the Eastern Carpathians. The rest of the county are hills, plateaus, and valleys. The county is crossed by Tisa River and its main tributaries: Iza, Viseu, and Mara rivers. Neighbours * Suceava County to the East. * Satu Mare County to the West. * Ukraine to the North - Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast. * Sălaj County, Cluj County and Bistriţa-Năsăud County to the South. Economy Maramureş is known for its pastoral and agricultural traditions, largely unscathed by the industrialisation campaign that had been carried on during Romania's communist period. Ploughing, planting, harvesting, and hay making and handling are mostly done through manual labour. The county is also home to a strong mining industry of extraction of metals other than iron. The industrial plants built around Baia Mare during the communist period heavily polluted the area in the past, but recently, due to the decline of the city's industrial activity, the area is less polluted. Tourism The region is known for its beautiful rural scenery, local small woodwork and craftwork industry as well as for its churches and original rural architecture. There are not many paved roads in rural areas, and most of them are usually accessible. The county's main tourist attractions: * The cities of Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației. * The villages on the Iza, Mara, and Vişeu Valleys. ** The Wooden Churches of Maramureș ** The Wooden Churches of Lăpuș ** The Wooden Churches of Chioar ** The Merry Cemetery of Săpânța * The Rodna Mountains. * The landscape of Cavnic. Administrative divisions Maramureş County has 2 municipalities, 11 towns and 63 communes. *Municipalities **Baia Mare - county seat; population: 149,735 (as of 2008) **Sighetu Marmației *Towns **Baia Sprie **Borșa **Cavnic **Dragomirești **Săliștea de Sus **Seini **Șomcuta Mare **Târgu Lăpuș **Tăuții-Măgherăuș **Ulmeni **Vișeu de Sus *Communes **Ardusat **Ariniș **Asuaju de Sus **Băița de sub Codru **Băiuț **Bârsana **Băsești **Bicaz **Bistra **Bocicoiu Mare **Bogdan Vodă **Boiu Mare **Botiza **Budești **Călinești **Câmpulung la Tisa **Cernești **Cicârlău **Coaș **Coltău **Copalnic-Mănăștur **Coroieni **Cupșeni **Desești **Dumbrăvița **Fărcașa **Gârdani **Giulești **Groși **Groșii Țibleșului **Ieud **Lăpuș **Leordina **Mireșu Mare **Moisei **Oarța de Jos **Ocna Șugatag **Oncești **Petrova **Poienile de sub Munte **Poienile Izei **Recea **Remetea Chioarului **Remeți **Repedea **Rona de Jos **Rona de Sus **Rozavlea **Ruscova **Săcălășeni **Săcel **Sălsig **Săpânța **Sarasău **Satulung **Șieu **Șișești **Strâmtura **Suciu de Sus **Vadu Izei **Valea Chioarului **Vima Mică **Vișeu de Jos References External links * Photos from Maramures * Maramures- Information from an English family that live there * Sighetu Marmaţiei Online News * Portal of Sighetu Marmaţiei * http://www.ovr.ro/MM%20History%20English.html More about Maramureș history * Photos from around the county in the dedicated Flickr group * Poienile de sub Munte -- a website dedicated to this village Category:Counties of Romania Category:Maramureș County category:Valid name- county category:Valid name- county- Romania